The US Coast Guard suspended its search for the missing crewmembers of the cargo vessel Mariana at 22:35 local time on Tuesday, April 28.
Missing are five crewmembers of Mariana, which reportedly experienced a disabled engine approximately 140 miles (230 kilometres) northwest of Saipan on April 15. The ship subsequently overturned.
The six crewmembers aboard Mariana at the time of the incident were Frederick L. Nosek Jr., Landon Delos Reyes, Jose L. Ramirez, Mohammed A. Rahaman, Chet R. Brochon, and Vincent B. Agulto.
In total, coast guard crews and involved partners searched for more than 100 hours, covering over 135,000 square nautical miles, an area larger than the size of California.
“We are deeply saddened to announce that despite widespread efforts, we have made the difficult decision to suspend our active search for the missing crew members,” said Commander Preston Hieb, search and rescue mission coordinator, Coast Guard Oceania District.
“We offer our deepest condolences to the families of the Mariana crew, as well as the entire Saipan community affected by this tragedy. We are grateful for the efforts of our international and US military partners during the search, as well as the resilience and support demonstrated by the CNMI community.”
Search efforts began after Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu watchstanders lost communications with Mariana on April 15.
Watchstanders coordinated the launch of HC-130 Hercules airplane crews from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point and the crews of the fast response cutters USCGC Frederick Hatch and USCGC Oliver Henry to search for the missing vessel and crewmembers.
The US Coast Guard is leading the investigation into the incident with assistance from the National Transportation Safety Board.